Dina Asher-Smith missed out on a medal in the 100metres at the World Athletics Championships after a disappointing run in the final.
The 27-year-old had initially snuck into the final by just a thousandth of a second after tensing up towards the end of her semi-final.
But the athlete she had marginally eclipsed, Ewa Swoboda, was also given a place in a nine-women final.
Come the showpiece on Monday night, Asher-Smith, who had targeted a podium at the event, again struggled, eventually crossing the line in eighth place in 11seconds dead.
It led to conjecture of an injury but she insisted there was no fitness issue. She said: “I’m very disappointed with today. I’m almost in disbelief. I know I’m in great shape. I ran 10.8 a few weeks ago. I’m very disappointed. It doesn’t really happen to me. You know me. That’s why I’m so surprised.”
Gold went to American Sha’Carri Richardson, who like Asher-Smith only qualified for the final by virtue of being a fastest loser, in a championship record of 10.65s ahead of Jamaican duo Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Asher-Smith’s teammate Daryll Neita missed out on a place in the final after finishing fourth in her heat.
Afterwards, she said: “I didn’t run fast enough to be in the final and that is it. It’s a big surprise because I should be ether. I came here to be in that final. The fact that I am not is super disappointing.”
Holly Bradshaw’s evening ended in tears, the Briton only managing a clearance of 4.35metres after having been stricken with a stomach bug last week and admitted she had been struggling with her mental health.
“I’m really gutted and heartbroken,” she said. “I picked up a stomach bug on Thursday and was basically being the sick the whole night. That’s quite unusual for me. I have not really been able to eat much since.
“My mental health is really suffering from doing this sport right now. At the moment, I don’t want to compete or think about the pole vault or do anything.”
Molly Caudery, however, booked her place in the pole vault with the second-biggest clearance of her career, a 4.65m.
